


The Girl in the Castle

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-24
Updated: 2017-11-24
Packaged: 2019-02-06 07:13:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12812373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: You meet Linda in the middle of the night and have a little chat and a lot of hot chocolate.





	The Girl in the Castle

For the first few weeks after she has been rescued, Linda seems to spend most of her time with her head in a book, and for most of that time, she has her head pillowed in a book while she sleeps. The first time you walk in on her like this, you stop, stammer an apology, and run away. The next time, you leave her a blanket. The third time, you carefully remove the book, mark the page, and replace the book with a pillow.

When at last Linda stops sleeping in the library, you meet her in the manor’s kitchen while you are getting a glass of water in the middle of the night. She is standing at the stove, where a saucepan full of something chocolatey bubbles away.

“Oh, hi,” you say, honestly surprised to see her here. She only has the light on above the stove, so you didn’t think that anyone was in here.

“Hi,” says Linda, and smiles when she recognises you. “Hey, you’re the one who saved me, right?”

“Yeah,” you say. “Well, I helped Alex.” You are not sure where to put your hands on the glass, so your thumb absently strokes over the lip of the glass while you stare at her. Linda is wearing soft, cozy-looking pyjamas that resemble tracksuit bottoms, and you are pretty sure that her hoodie is an actual hoodie and not a sleep one. You wonder how long she’s been up, and if she’s having trouble sleeping at night. You don’t blame her, after what she’s been through.

“If it wasn’t for you, Alex would still be looking for me,” says Linda with a chuckle. “She’s smart but, well, she’s got other things to focus on and worry about. Like homework.” She looks back at the saucepan.

“I thought Alex was older than that,” you say.

“That’s not why she’s still at school,” says Linda. “But it’s also not because she’s dumb, because Alex is really smart.”

“Not as smart as you,” you say. Linda gives a bitter little laugh.

“I may be smart, but not smart enough to know when to keep my nose out of something that doesn’t concern me,” says Linda. “Even though it does concern me. It concerns all of us. But I don’t know how much you’re allowed to know.”

“If it’s something that got you locked away in a castle, then it must be serious,” you say, sitting on the counter and placing your water glass on the counter beside you.

“You don’t know the half of it,” says Linda with a sigh, still staring into the saucepan as though it holds all the answers. And it certainly holds something delicious. “You know, I got up to make this, thinking it’d help me sleep better, and I ended up making too much.”

“Maybe someone else will come in and need a warm drink,” you say. Linda cracks a smile.

“Do you want some?” asks Linda, and she laughs when you blush. Of course that was what she was insinuating, why are you so naïve?

“Uh, yes please,” you say, suddenly very aware of your own pyjamas. They are flannel, with little pink hearts printed on them, and your hair is a mess because you’d been tossing and turning.

“Okay,” says Linda, and reaches up on her toes to open a cupboard above the stove, out of which she snags another coffee mug and sits it beside the first one. She is surprisingly fit, for a bookworm who was stuck in a castle for weeks. But, then again, she also used to ride horses, if her little hints are any indication.

“Do you ride?” you ask, the question coming unbidden from your lips as a way to fill the silence. Linda tenses subtly, and you know you’ve said the wrong thing. “Oh, sorry.”

“It’s fine,” says Linda, and you can hear by the tension in her voice that it is very much not fine. “I used to ride.” And that is all she’ll say on the matter.

“I’m sorry,” you say, feeling terrible. The girl offered you a hot chocolate, she’s clearly still struggling, and you go and put your foot in it. Way to go.

“It’s okay, you didn’t know,” says Linda. “But you ride though, don’t you? I’ve seen you out there, and you led me out of the castle with your horse. That helped a lot, since the shade thrown by your horse’s butt kept the sun out of my eyes.” You laugh.

“I’ll be sure to tell my horse that later,” you say. Linda looks about to ask something, but then reconsiders.

“Tell me about your horse,” says Linda. “Or horses, if you have more than one. Which is fine, some people have enough love in their heart and money in the bank to care for multiple horses.”

And, while the hot chocolate bubbles away and then cools slightly in the mugs, you tell Linda all about your horse. How you arrived at Moorland and were assigned a horse, and how everything changed when the cow, Rosie, got sick. Linda looks quite thoughtful at times, but she doesn’t say much, just smiles and laughs at the right moments.

When you get to the part about Justin, though, Linda stops you by pressing the mug of hot chocolate into your hands.

“It wasn’t your fault,” says Linda. “Sabine is a manipulative little beast, she would’ve gotten him onto that barge some way or another. Speaking of, Alex was there, did she look particularly upset about Justin leaving?”

“No,” you say, frowning as you think back to that day. It wasn’t very long ago, actually. “She seemed more concerned about Thomas, actually.”

“Yeah, that makes sense,” says Linda, nodding. “Sorry to confuse you, it’s just a joke.” She sets her mug down and then easily hefts herself up onto the counter beside you, where you become extremely aware of her proximity and the way her leg presses against yours as she sips at her hot chocolate.

“You’re really pretty,” you blurt, unable to shut your mouth in time, and then you blush quite fiercely. Though, to be fair, your face has been burning ever since you first saw Linda. You know that it’s stupid, you know that Linda literally just got back from a horrible ordeal, but in the short time you’ve known the girl, you’ve developed a bit of a crush on her.

“Thanks,” says Linda, grinning at you. “You’re not so bad yourself.” Now you’re the one grinning like a fool.

The two of you finish your hot chocolate in silence, and then, Linda hops off the counter and rinses out the cups and saucepan, leaving the larger item to soak.

“Probably should’ve soaked that before,” says Linda, looking at the mess. “Eh, the butler can do it.” She looks quite pleased at the fact that he’ll have to clean up the chocolate stuck to the bottom of the saucepan, but honestly, after what he’s done, you, too, feel a sense of satisfaction.

“I think my room is near yours,” you say as the two of you walk out of the kitchen. Your hands are still warm from the hot chocolate, and the drink has also spread warmth all through you. Though, you get the feeling that the girl walking next to you through the manor is also largely to thank for that warmth.

“Yeah, most of the guest rooms are in the one spot,” says Linda. “Makes it easy when groups are staying here, I guess.”

“This is my room,” you say, recognising the door, and you both stop in front of it.

“Well, I guess this is goodnight,” says Linda with a smile. She looks so cute, even in this dim lighting, with her round glasses reflecting the moonlight and her hair looking fluffier than usual despite still being tied back in a ponytail. You realise that she tried to sleep but failed, but she still tied her hair back in a ponytail to cook.

Just as you are admiring her for being so proper, she suddenly stops all of your thoughts with a kiss. It’s just on the cheek, but it still almost sends you stumbling back into the doorframe. Linda laughs, looking absolutely adorable, and your heart races.

“Night,” says Linda, making her way to her own bedroom which is right next door to yours.

“N-night,” you stammer, touching your cheek. Somehow, you manage to get into your bedroom and get into bed without tripping over your own feet or melting into a puddle. The smell of hot chocolate lingers long after you get under the covers, and you can’t seem to stop smiling or touching your cheek.


End file.
